


deceit and decisions

by dreams_and_typewriters



Series: future turns to present and friend turns to partner [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Happy Ending, M/M, Mentioned Kindaichi Yuutarou, Mild Angst, POV Third Person, Past Tense, alternative title: the idea of tsukki playing in neon green is so hilarious i wrote a fic about it, but don't worry they solve it, did i keep it the same length anyways? also yeah, is this way too long for a fic that takes place over the timespan of like 5 hours? yeah, like a bit at the start, mentioned Koganegawa Kanji, mentioned KyouHaba, post timeskip haikyuu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29707920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreams_and_typewriters/pseuds/dreams_and_typewriters
Summary: You can’t say it’s ‘just a club’ when there’s actually three wanting you to play for them.In which Tsukishima finally decides to join the Sendai Frogs, with Yamaguchi’s “assistance.”
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: future turns to present and friend turns to partner [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2184966
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. a letter in the wrong hands

“Tsukki! There’s mail for you!” 

Yamaguchi flicked through the post he’d just collected again: a couple bills, a letter for him, some crappy waste-of-paper advertisements, and a couple of bits for Tsukki. He glanced over the letters in more detail, not just looking at their address this time.

Their address. Yamaguchi grinned at the thought, in spite of himself. It’d been a joint decision, made awkwardly as usual, to go to the same university and live together. It wasn’t like one had forced the other or anything, rather they both applied to a few of the same places by chance, and got all their offers back. As Tsukki had expected, and shook his head at Yamaguchi’s shock because - and he still remembers exactly - “You’re the smartest person I know. And definitely one of the best students here. Any university would want you.”

So it was an easy decision really; Yamaguchi had been fretting since forever about what would happen when they ended up at different places and the opportunity was right there to make sure it never came to that. They’d been living in the same small, awkwardly shaped apartment for over two years but he was still sometimes overwhelmed by the perfection, the domesticity of it all.

He broke out of the daydream for a moment to glance at the logo on a piece of Tsukishima’s post. A spring coil sat in a circle, surrounded by the words ‘Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza’, making Yamaguchi blink a couple of times. 

“Just a minute,” came the shout in reply from Tsukishima, giving Yamaguchi longer to look at the envelope and a name he recognises from scanning through volleyball results tables.

Yamaguchi knew he shouldn’t. This was private. Mail intended for the man who sounded like he was just finishing up in the kitchen. Not for Yamaguchi, who was growing more curious and confused by the second.

He looked at the letter a few seconds longer and sighed, discarding the rest on the shelf in the hall and opening it hurriedly as he ducked into the living room. Yamaguchi scanned the letter, almost missing the sofa as he sat down, looking over before Tsukishima could find what he was doing. The guilt of looking at his boyfriend’s private correspondence and the fear of his reaction ever so slowly became replaced with anger and disappointment. He looked over it a couple of times again, the same sentences catching his eye.

> _‘We have been awaiting your response to our previous letter for three weeks, and would like to stress that a reply at your earliest convenience would be greatly appreciated._
> 
> _..._
> 
> _Your membership of the Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza would be highly welcome if you wished to accept our invitation._
> 
> _..._
> 
> _We understand and acknowledge that this is likely not the only such request you may have received however we would like to point you to our recent performances as reasons why Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza could be an ideal employer...’_

After a third reading, Yamaguchi stopped there, placing the letter down beside him carefully, blinking into space for a few seconds. 

“Tsukishima.” Yamaguchi even surprised himself with how his voice sounded, cool but pissed off and almost threatening. He knew that kind of tone would scare him if he were on the receiving end.

Yamaguchi heard footsteps at once and looked at the door where an uncharacteristically expressive Tsukishima was now standing. He wouldn’t meet his boyfriend’s eyes, which were cold and pointing daggers at him, and he seemed even stiffer than usual, frozen like a deer caught in headlights. 

From watching his boyfriend, it was clear he wasn’t going to realise right now, and Yamaguchi almost wanted to smile about the fact that just for once, he’d caught Tsukishima off guard. Continuing to look at him, Yamaguchi reached beside him and took the letter, offering it to the man that physically was towering over him but somehow looked more sheepish than ever. After a pause, Tsukishima’s looked between Yamaguchi and what he was holding, back again and so on, his eyes going wider.

“Shit,” came the first verbal response, muttered under Tsukishima’s breath, snatching the paper hastily and stepping back away from his boyfriend, who seemed at risk of boiling over more so than the food Tsukishima had left cooking in the kitchen. 

Yamaguchi cocked his head slightly, waiting until he realised no answer was coming unless he made it. He could feel the anger slowly rising as he fully processed the situation, fully aware it couldn’t be suppressed for long. “Care to explain?”

Back against the wall, in more ways than one, Tsukishima nodded. And looked at Yamaguchi, winced, and shook his head. He glanced back into the hallway, desperate to escape but pinned to where he was by Yamaguchi’s piercing gaze.

That was it. Yamaguchi sighed and stood up, rounding on his almost motionless boyfriend. “Three weeks?” he nearly yelled, dropping the paper on the table and taking a step closer. “Tsukishima, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” 

With that, the blond’s eyes widened further, and he pressed himself back, gaze fixated on the mountain scene hung on the wall behind Yamaguchi.

“Hey! Look at me.” Yamaguchi’s voice was low and he was doing his utmost not to yell fully. “Tell me why you said the only job offers you’ve had are from book shops and museums. Why you’ve clearly been ignoring professional teams for weeks. Why you’re letting an opportunity escape and why you’ve been lying about it.” 

He was seething now, shaking and somehow far closer to Tsukishima’s face than he’d started. “Why the fuck did you lie to me, Tsukishima?” His voice went dangerously quiet. “I knew you were a lot of things. I didn’t know you were a liar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya! thanks for reading this :D
> 
> sorry if the way the chapter-ing's done is kind of weird, i know they're a bit short but that'd kinda just they way they happened? i know it might be weird to have a 6 chapter fic shorter that like one chapter of another work but variation's a good thing apparently, right?
> 
> please don't read the notes on these, they're so waffle-y and kinda awkward so sorry about that! im really pleased that you're looking at the fic though, that's super cool of you
> 
> yeah i know, im hecking awkward...


	2. explanations and apologies

Tsukishima sighed. Yamaguchi was right. Yamaguchi was always right. 

Finally looking him in the eye, Tsukishima swallowed. It was worse than expected. He immediately regretted looking at Yamaguchi’s face; his eyes betrayed everything he was feeling and it wasn’t just rage like Tsukishima had expected, or probably hoped. Yamaguchi was disappointed and confused and, worst, really hurt.

He knew he shouldn’t be surprised. Nothing Yamaguchi had said was wrong. He’d lied to him. Yamaguchi’s words stung, hard, and he knew he deserved it entirely. Fabrications, minor omissions, slight inaccuracies, call it whatever the hell he wanted, they made him a liar.

Tsukishima brushed past Yamaguchi and slowly sat on the chair below the painting he’d been looking at earlier and a few other pictures that hung on the wall that he didn’t want to be facing. 

“Well?” Yamaguchi was clearly still furious, and entirely rightfully so. 

The uncommon tone made Tsukishima’s bones turn to ice. He let his head droop down, eyes taking in the hideous pattern on the carpet.

“I’m sorry.” The words came out heavy but quiet, and Tsukishima hoped Yamaguchi could hear them and might understand how sincere they were. Unlike his boyfriend, it was something Tsukishima rarely said. And something he always meant.

If Yamaguchi wanted to accuse him of lying again, wanted to say he couldn’t tell the difference anymore, he’d be entirely within his right. Some part of Tsukishima almost hoped he would, that Yamaguchi would be cruel in retort and make him feel the hurt that Tsukishima knew he’d inflicted. Maybe then the overwhelming guilt would subside. Maybe then he’d stop thinking about how he could never stop letting down Yamaguchi, how Yamaguchi should just walk out on him right now, how the real lie here was the idea that he could ever be enough for the man still staring at the wall on the other side of the small room.

But he didn’t. Yamaguchi turned and walked to the sofa, his steps soft on the carpet. Tsukishima heard him sit down.

“Thank you,” came Yamaguchi’s voice after what had felt like an eternity of sitting in silence. Tsukishima barely managed to hold in his breath of relief. “I’m still mad.”

“Understandable.”

“But I’m mostly confused, Tsukki.”

Tsukishima finally looked at him. I lied to you. Why do you even still want to talk to me? A silent question consumed his headspace, his head tilting to the side. “Hmm?”

Yamaguchi sighed. “You know this was stupid right? Did you think I just wouldn’t find out?”

Tsukishima pushed his glasses up his face, feeling grateful for the question. Yamaguchi knew him, perfectly - how to talk to him, what he was feeling despite the minimal signals, everything. It hurt to acknowledge how he’d underestimated that, how idiotic he’d been in believing for a second that Yamaguchi wouldn’t find out. 

“Yes,” he answered to the first of the two questions. “And no,” for the second. “Well, I’d hoped yes. But no.”

“We’re going to talk about this now, okay?” Of course it was coming, but Tsukishima still sighed at the words. “You were cooking, right? If the oven’s still on or something, I’d turn it off.” 

It was a wonder to Tsukishima how Yamaguchi had remembered that; he’d totally forgotten, but he nodded in response. “Okay. Yeah. There’s food. I’ll just go... sort that out,” he replied quietly. He stood to leave for the kitchen, pausing by the door frame. “I’ll be right back.” 

He said it resolutely, almost like a promise, one that he wasn’t sure if he was making to Yamaguchi or himself. In the kitchen, he turned off the hob and took the fish out the oven, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes and he hung the heat-proof gloves back up. Obviously he had to go back in the lounge. But every time he tried to think of an explanation, Tsukishima faltered. The excuses he’d given himself when he’d archived emails and put letters in untouched drawers were falling apart, and by the time he’d completed the short walk back to the other room, he was clueless as to what to say. 

Yamaguchi’s eyes watched him sit down again and nod. 

“Tsukki?”

“Yeah?”

“I guess I’m angry at you for not telling me about the other job offers. And I have a lot of questions. I’m going to ask them but I kind of want to know if you’re intending on replying honestly.”

“Yes.” Tsukishima’s initial response was short and his voice shaky. He breathed slowly. “I am,” he confirmed, “I seriously am. I’m sorry if you can’t believe me.”

Yamaguchi shook his head. “I will.”

The unwavering trust that Yamaguchi had in him was something Tsukishima couldn’t understand, but was forever grateful for. “I— Yamaguchi, um, it might be terrible. As in... I’m an idiot, so my responses might be... idiotic,” Tsukishima slowly admitted.

Yamaguchi smiling ever so slightly at that confused him. “I know,” Yamaguchi sighed. “Right. So, first, were you going to let me know after the chance had gone? Or were you just never going to tell me?”

Tsukishima knew the look in his eyes already confirmed the latter and said nothing. 

Yamaguchi nodded. “Look I... really I just want to know why? Like, hear it from you.”

He sighed. “Okay.” He stares at the floor for a second again, aware of and thankful for Yamaguchi’s patience. “Yamaguchi, the reasoning, or excuses, or whatever are... flimsy at best. I’m kind of aware of that now. So... please bear with me?”

Yamaguchi let out what almost seemed like a chuckle. “Hey, of course. I know sometimes you need me to yell at you to help think rationally again. Just get to the point.”

“You’re being way too nice to me, you know. You should still be yelling.” Tsukishima looked back at him and blinked, not intending to say that out loud. “I, I mean—“

“I know,” Yamaguchi interrupted helpfully. “But that’d be pointless. How can I be mad at you for doing illogical shit if I do some in retaliation?”

Tsukishima sighed. “Yeah. You’re right. As usual.” He sat up, realising he’d been hunched forward in the chair. “So...”

Nothing could really prepare him for how embarrassed or stupid he felt describing his thoughts out loud. He wasn’t someone who enjoyed discussing feelings at length anyway, but when their reasoning was so flawed, it was even worse.

“I don’t want to play for a volleyball team. It feels too much like... like making it my whole life. And that would be stupid because there’s no security, I mean, anything can go wrong. Injuries, age, someone better turning up, loads of things that I can’t control. And you still can’t win all the time. I’m still not, you know, Hinata, or whatever. High school was different, but it’s also over, Yamaguchi. Why’d I want to spend my actual life on something that’s nothing more than... um...” 

He’d started looking at Yamaguchi part way through. And that had been a mistake; he looked like he was using effort to stop himself rolling his eyes, his mouth in a hard line. His expression just said ‘seriously?’

Tsukishima mumbled the last couple of sentences and trailed off. They looked at each other in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch me switching povs every chapter, sorry if ya hate that kinda thing! um yeah that's happening in everything i write to be honest because of all the things i am, consistent is not one of them...


	3. just a club: the sequel

Yamaguchi glanced over Tsukishima’s face and sighed. He let them pause, waiting to see if Tsukishima was going to continue. He didn’t seem to want to.

“... a club?” he finished softly, tilting his head slightly and looking at Tsukishima to see if he’d been right, despite already knowing he was.

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t we go through this already?”

“Yeah.”

They paused again. Yamaguchi knew that his boyfriend was finally starting to tell him what was going on. There was no use pushing him, really; the risk of shutting down the conversation completely was too high.

“Um, that’s not the important bit though.” Tsukishima finally spoke again, and Yamaguchi sat back on the sofa, crossing his legs. “I shouldn’t have started there when the important bit is me, uh, lying to you.”

It was clear that it took a considerable amount of effort but Yamaguchi had to credit Tsukishima for looking him in the eye as he talked. He probably wanted nothing more than to mutter his words into the floor, but the gesture showed the respect he had for Yamaguchi. 

“I didn’t want to see you be excited about it only to let you down but saying that I wasn’t going to accept any of the offers.” He moved his glasses. “I know I’ve let you down now anyways so that doesn’t... work, but I guess that’s what I was thinking? Obviously I shouldn’t have lied about it. That’s... that’s what I need to say, I guess. That doing that was wrong, and I regret doing it. If you don’t want to hear me say more pointless waffle then please stop me.”

Yamaguchi shook his head. “I know that you know.” He tucked his legs up beside him on the sofa, leaning more against the arm rest. “I don’t want to stop you. I want you to explain as best you can, and I’ll listen to you for as long as it takes.” He watched his boyfriend open his mouth again, thankful that the anger was still sticking around long enough that he didn’t feel bad about how he knew Tsukishima was feeling.

“Also Hinata and Kageyama are already playing for teams. I was scared to tell you because I didn’t want you to be the only one without, um... it sounds really awful, I know.”

Yamaguchi understood what he meant. He knew really that Tsukishima would never think like it, but he needed to ask. “Does that bother you? Does that change what you think of me?”

Yamaguchi almost regretted it as he saw Tsukishima’s eyes go wide again, his mouth opening slightly and staying there. After a few seconds, he blinked and almost scrambled to refute the question. “N... no, no, I— yeah it really sounded like that, didn’t it, that’s...” It took effort for him to calm himself down, and Yamaguchi waited. 

“I don’t care. Yamaguchi, it couldn’t matter less to me. I mean, if you cared, I’d care on your behalf but I don’t... nothing could make me stop seeing you as perfect.” 

Yamaguchi smiled slightly as Tsukishima’s thoughts stopped barrelling at breakneck speed and his face showed he’d just realised what he’d said. “Good. I know. I’m, well, I’m pleased to know. I know you’re not done, so if you can finish...?”

“Yeah. I will. Fine, it’s really stupid but I thought you might be, not hurt but, well, kind of hurt, not exactly, in some way by all of us, you know, getting asked to play volleyball or whatever. I didn’t want to make you feel bad over something dumb like you did in first year.” He sighed. “That’s what I was thinking. I know now it’s so fucking incomprehensibly dim, and I’ve actually gone and hurt you over something serious, which is way, way worse. The irony isn’t lost on me, don’t worry,” he grimaced. 

Yamaguchi was beginning to understand. Explaining thought processes was the best way to realise a million holes in them, and he knew that held true especially for Tsukishima. He was about to reply when Tsukishima spoke again. 

“Honestly, those are way less important than the underlying reasoning. It’s just... awkward to admit it because it kind of means I know I’m wrong? Basically I think I knew you’d talk sense into me. And I guess I was really desperate to avoid that.”

Yamaguchi held back another chuckle at that. That was enough, for now at least. “Thank you for being honest and explaining.”

“It’s the least I can do,” Tsukishima replied. “I’m really sorry, Yamaguchi.”

“I know.”

Yamaguchi thought for a moment about something that had caught him while Tsukishima was speaking and smiled, ignoring his boyfriend’s look of confusion.

“You said ‘offers’, right?”

“I... what?” 

“Offers, plural?” 

Tsukishima looked puzzled, but nodded. “Oh. Yeah.”

“So, I’m going to help you decide which volleyball club to accept.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh im not trying to do notes for every chapter i swear! i dont know if the chapter titles were such a good idea, theyre kinda bad and not at all uniform but i just like things with chapter titles so um, here they are


	4. that moment does exist (and also defeats logic)

“I don’t want to play for any teams.” Tsukishima knew he was nothing if not stubborn, nor did he want help dealing with any of this. Well, he didn’t want to want help, anyway.

“Yes you do.” Unfortunately, his boyfriend could also be particularly stubborn, especially when he had the upper hand, like right now.

“I do not. Playing professionally is dumb, and my point stands, who’d want to dedicate themselves to that when it’s just...”

“Just a club?” Yamaguchi practically smirked as he interrupted, correctly finishing Tsukishima’s sentence.

“Exactly.”

Tsukishima could feel Yamaguchi staring at him almost victoriously.

“Wait, no. Not... not like that.” He got the feeling that he’d just fallen straight into Yamaguchi’s trap. 

“I don’t buy it.” Yamaguchi had shifted to sitting cross-legged on the sofa, and was grinning smugly at Tsukishima. 

“It’s not like that.” 

“Yes it is.”

“Yamaguchi, playing for a team is illogical and risky.” Tsukishima said, trying to sound final despite knowing he was omitting some key things that would no doubt be pointed out to him.

“The only risk is that you might miss out on the chance to play more matches and regret it endlessly in a few years. Forget the logic, you’re still hooked on volleyball and you’d love it.”

Tsukishima folded his arms and looked at the wall opposite Yamaguchi.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Perhaps,” Tsukishima muttered. “Ok. Fine. Yes. Maybe some unreasonable part of me still wants to play. That doesn’t mean I have to give into it.”

Yamaguchi sighed. As in sighed, like it was taking him physical effort to not put his head in his hand and slump forward in frustration. “Yes, Tsukki, yes it does! Your grand calculations on what’s the optimum logical career path don’t account for what would make you happy.”

Tsukishima opened his mouth, preparing to make a quick comeback, but nothing came out, and he closed it again. Yamaguchi was, he hated to admit it, right. 

It was very clear that Yamaguchi knew this. He was still grinning at Tsukishima with that victorious, smug look about him. After a rather long silence, Yamaguchi spoke up, presumably after realising that the defeated Tsukishima wasn’t going to answer him. “Well, that’s settled then.” He stood up. “I’ll get some pen and paper, you get whatever stuff they sent you or whatever so we have something visual to look at.” 

Tsukishima nodded and got up. At least they were going to do this part logically, it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a wild really short chapter appeared! while i was trying to find the wording of the bokuto quote about volleyball google also showed a couple episode/manga chapter titles and it reminded me that tsukki really does have awesome chapter titles. maybe im a slut for sun/moon imagery but stuff like 'the halo around the moon' seriously slaps


	5. pros and cons of being a pro

> _1\. General tone (of letters, etc)_
> 
> _2\. Location_
> 
> _3. ~~Risk~~ CHANCE of knowing co-workers _
> 
> _4\. Uniform_
> 
> _5\. Salary_
> 
> _6\. Logo and branding_

Yamaguchi lay on his stomach, legs in the air and laptop at the ready, while Tsukishima sat with his back against the sofa, twirling a biro in his hand and holding one of the letters in the other. The notepad with the list of key deliberation points sat between them.

“One,” Tsukishima started, “general tone.” He tucked his legs up. “What do you mean by that, like, can I say Tamaden Elephants goes on the cons list because they sent like four letters and they're really annoying?”

Yamaguchi chuckled softly and sighed. “Yeah, that's… basically the point. Pen?”

Tsukishima handed him it and he noted the team onto the cons list, shaking his head slightly.

“Now, what’s the feeling on,” Yamaguchi checked the letters, “the Sendai Frogs?”

Tsukishima sighed, moving his glasses up his face and taking a letter to skim. “Huh, they're actually alright,” he said after a moment. “To the point, at least, not too weird and flowery I guess?” 

Yamaguchi nodded. “Yeah, okay, that sounds good.” Honestly, he’d been worried his category idea was just bullshit and that Tsukki would brush it aside, but maybe it was turning out to be helpful. “Finally, Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza. They seemed alright, from what I read?”

Tsukishima shrugged and drank some of his tea. “Yeah, you're right, they’re pretty reasonable.”

“Good.” Yamaguchi put it on the pros list and crossed out point one. “Point two, location. Um… do you actually know where any of these are?”

“The frogs one is in Sendai and the elephants one is in… Tamaden?” Tsukishima smiled slightly and Yamaguchi laughed, pleased to see he was finally getting into the idea a bit. “Yeah, we may need to look it up.”

Yamaguchi typed on his laptop, then looked back to Tsukishima with three maps open. “Okay, so Tokai is nine hours away, Tamaden is like a couple of hours by train and obviously Sendai would be like an hour and a bit.” 

“Okay, thank you, sounds alright.” Tsukishima nodded and shrugged, moving to pick the pen up off the floor and make the appropriate notes. “Number three: eliminating the risk of already knowing someone I’d potentially be playing with,” Tsukishima read, ticking point two from the list.

Yamaguchi shook his head. “Consider: it might be nice to have a few friends there.” It was pointless trying, but probing Tsukishima was kind of fun anyhow.

“No. Disgusting.” Tsukishima’s retort was exactly as predicted. “This one’s more your area of expertise, you know people and listen to them talk about their jobs and stuff.”

“And just maybe, after it comes in useful now, you could start doing it as well?” 

Apparently no response to that was necessary, as the subject changed back quickly. “So, Tamaden Elephants. I’m pretty sure I saw something about that on the training camp group email.”

“The what?” Yamaguchi grinned at the thought of his boyfriend being roped into that kind of thing. 

Tsukishima sighed as he scrolled through his phone, looking for an email. “Koganegawa forced everyone to join it after that training camp in first year. It’s basically never active, but people send life updates and the occasional volleyball video every now and then.” He stopped scrolling, and Yamaguchi watched him scan the email. “That’s it, Kindaichi joined. Put it on the cons list.”

“Hey, Kindaichi’s nice, what can you have against him? Sure he seems fiery sometimes, but he’s a good-natured guy. We actually got on pretty well at captain’s meetings and stuff.” Yamaguchi could certainly think of more annoying people to be on a team with.

“What I have against him is that I know him. Besides, he’s a middle blocker, right? So we’d have to do training and stuff together, probably.”

Yamaguchi sighed. “I still think it might be nice to have a familiar face with you.” Sometimes there really was no convincing Tsukishima, even if he was wrong.

“And I don’t. Cons list. Next up, the Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza.”

“Doesn’t ring any bells.” Yamaguchi tried to think if it sounded familiar from anything other than league tables. “Nah, nobody.”

“Good,” Tsukki huffed in approval, and noted it on the pros list. “Lastly, Sendai Frogs. I think I’ve heard that before.” He went quiet for a second. “I think I’ve heard you mention it before.”

“Huh?” Yamaguchi tried to remember when he’d been talking about it. “Got it!” he said after a while. “Yahaba told me something about Kyoutani getting asked to join.”

“Kyoutani as in the angry guy from Aoba Johsai?” 

“Yeah, that’s the one!” It seemed from their tones that they had rather different opinions on him. “Hey, he can't be that bad, Yahaba clearly sees something in him,” Yamaguchi insisted.

“Rather him than me,” Tsukishima mumbled back, “eh, cons list again. That’s two out of three.” He sighed. “At least we’re done discussing other people now.”

Yamaguchi shook his head but he couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips. He rolled his eyes at Tsukki and checked their list. “Okay, point four: uniform. Uh, do you know what any of them actually look like?”

“Not off the top of my head.” Tsukishima shrugged. “Google it, I guess.”

Yamaguchi opened another tab on his laptop and started typing, then opened the images. “So, what kind of thing are you thinking of?” he asked, deciding to have some fun while he was occupied looking up kits. No problem with window shopping if you got the kit for free, right?

“What do you mean? Just show me,” Tsukishima asked, confused and efficient-minded as ever.

Yamaguchi smiled. “No, I don't think I will,” he replied, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend’s impatience. “Go on, entertain me? Anyone would think you're eager to find out, that's a bit of a change in attitude, huh?”

Tsukki sighed and Yamaguchi's smile grew wider; he’d got the blond in a corner now. “Fine. Anything dark. Grey, preferably. Nothing too bright. Think of the away uniform from Karasuno? Nothing like that.”

Yamaguchi finally found a good picture and nodded. “So, how does this look?” He turned the laptop round to show Tsukishima the pretty ideal dark blue and grey uniform of Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza.

Tsukishima shrugged. “I kind of like it, no complaints there,” he said noncommittally.

“That’s a surprise coming from you,” Yamaguchi chided, “But yeah, that’d look nice.” He looked up the next one and grinned as he looked, chuckling. “This one. It should be this one.”

“No way.” Tsukki was looking at a very apt uniform for a team named after frogs; a bright green shirt and some brighter yellow accents. “Absolutely not.” 

“Absolutely yes. Now moving on,” he clicked the best picture he could find, “what about this?” 

Tsukishima's look of distaste was appropriate, in Yamaguchi’s view. The uniform was purple and black, but somehow the shade of purple was one of the rare ugly ones. “No. Also, reminds me of Shiratorizawa.” 

Yamaguchi chuckled and tilted his head. “Yeah, I see it,” he agreed disdainfully. “So, that’s two for the pros list and one--”

“Cons list. Two on the cons list.”

Yamaguchi struggled to hide his mischievous grin. “Hey, you’d look great in bright green!”

“With yellow accents,” Tsukishima added, giving him a blank stare.

“Pros list.” Yamaguchi wrote it down hastily. “Moving on, salary,” he continued before Tsukishima could stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldnt go without making at least one chapter pun, sorry! also only in pasting this into ao3 have i realised how much dialogue is in some of this. still if you're this far though, maybe, hopefully you don't mind that? i've just realised that with this i've managed to make a notes section for every chapter which is kind of embarrassing but alas, i am physically incapable of shutting the hell up. i guess thats why i wrote a 6000 word fic about tsukkiyama making one decision, oops...


	6. two soft things: court floors and this couple

Tsukishima sighed. “Finally, something important.” He looked over the letters and frowned.

“What’s up?”

“They don't stipulate salaries, per say,” he answered. “At least, only the Tamaden Elephants do. Can you look up average salaries or something?”

“Of course, well, I think I can.” Yamaguchi turned to his laptop once again to google the salaries. 

Tsukishima wrote down the offer from the Tamaden Elephants in the pros list, then frowned again. He assumed that was a reasonable salary, but it wasn't exactly like he’d researched the salaries of professional volleyball players, not having ever planned on becoming one. “Actually, do you have any idea how much most players get paid?”

“No, now I think about it. I’ve never actually considered it,” Yamaguchi replied, shrugging. Same as Tsukishima, it seemed.

“Huh,” Yamaguchi mumbled after a while, looking up from the screen. “I’d put that one on the cons list, if I were you.”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Seriously?” He changed the list accordingly, nevertheless, looking back to Yamaguchi once he was done.

“Okay, so the average volleyball player makes like ¥3,730,861, apparently, so none of them are astoundingly high…” Yamaguchi opened what looked to be the calculator screen on his laptop, presumably to have all the figures as an annual salary. 

“That includes the best players though, remember? Miya Atsumu and Ushijima and the like. So really it’s not a surprise.” Tsukishima shrugged and flipped the pen in his hand a few times until Yamaguchi was finished with the calculations. 

“Right, I mean this website only shows the average for each club, not individual players, but it's the closest I could find. It looks like Tokai Heavy Industries Esperanza - I swear that name gets longer every time I say it - would be on top, that’s ¥2,930,000, and then the Sendai Frogs is like a couple hundred thousand below that and the Tamaden Elephants, well, you can see, that’s way lower.” Yamaguchi turned the laptop to demonstrate the point to Tsukishima, who nodded and made the appropriate notes.

“Good to know. Thanks. Okay, nearly done,” he paused, tilting his head at the list. They’d made it what must have been a while ago now - it felt like they’d been discussing this for ages - and he couldn’t remember anymore why half these points were even on here. “Logo and branding?”

“Yeah!” Yamaguchi put the letters in front of them, arranging them neatly so that they were lined up completely. Tsukishima sighed, remembering the long talks Yamaguchi and Yachi had had about her graphic design course. That explained it.

“Well, I’ll let you take the reins,” he said, nodding towards the letters. It wasn't like he didn't care about that kind of thing; it had sounded pretty interesting when Yamaguchi was talking about it down the phone, but he assumed Yamaguchi had much better taste after the long discussions with the resident design expert of their friend group.

“No, don’t say that,” Yamaguchi moaned, shaking his head and looking at Tsukishima pointedly. 

“You practically took a graphic design course over the phone,” the middle blocker deadpanned.

“And they’re job offers for you,” Yamaguchi fired back. Tsukishima had to admit he’d been outwitted; his boyfriend had made a pretty solid point. He wasn’t a fan of being wrong, but then again, the whole day hadn’t exactly been fantastic on that front.

“Okay. The frog looks ridiculous, the elephant is plain ugly and the spring is boring. Analysis complete. They’re all going on the cons list.”

Yamaguchi sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’ll admit the composition of the Tamaden Elephant’s logo is a little busy and unbalanced, and while I see your criticism, the spring is simple and direct and--” To his surprise, Tsukishima’s boyfriend groaned. “Nope, you’re right. They’re all pretty hideous, I can’t lie to you,” he admitted, looking somewhat defeated.

Tsukishima smiled softly at Yamaguchi. “Glad to see we’re on the same page. Don’t fret about it. I doubt Yachi herself could make this rubbish look good,” he reassured him, nodding towards the letters to illustrate the point. 

Yamaguchi smiled at that and took the pen from Tsukishima. He cocked his head as he looked at the paper, then eventually wrote in the appropriate section ‘N/A: all terrible,’ making Tsukishima’s smile widen slightly. 

“Looks like we’re done with the list,” Yamaguchi said, handing the notepad to Tsukishima. “Decision time.” He grinned and Tsukishima sighed, putting his head against the sofa. It wasn’t like he could refuse now, and the whole exercise had made him reluctantly interested in the idea of playing professional volleyball. 

“Okay. I know it’s the most money and, actually, they have everything going for them pretty much, but nine hours to Tokai sounds like a lot.” Tsukishima sighed at rejecting the logical choice, but the long journey was a red line for a self-confessed homebody. The question of living apart from his boyfriend was also in the back of his mind, but he refused to allow himself to be that soft, even if it mattered a lot more to him than he’d willingly admit.

Yamaguchi nodded, smiling. “And, of course, you couldn’t stand living away from me,” he joked, making Tsukishima faintly red as he looked everywhere in the room apart from at the pinch server who could apparently also read minds. After a moment of awkward quiet, Yamaguchi frowned and laughed, pushing Tsukishima’s shoulder gently. “Hey, lighten up, you know I’d be coming with you, right?”

Tsukishima blinked at him. “I… seriously?” He’d never thought about it before, but, as pathetic as it seemed, he couldn't imagine not feeling much the same; if Yamaguchi went somewhere, Tsukishima had a strange feeling that he’d be going too. Still, he was surprised his boyfriend has said it so casually.

“Of course.” Yamaguchi said it as if it was so obvious. Tsukishima smiled. “But I’d prefer to stay a bit closer to home too,” his boyfriend added.

“So, two options left. What are your thoughts?”

“Well, I think Tamaden play near Tokyo, so that might be nice,” Yamaguchi began noncommittally, “but, well, look at the list.” He sighed looking at the notepad, and Tsukishima nodded. The team came up in the pros list a grand total of once. Yamaguchi grinned mischievously at Tsukishima, who sighed, having come to the same conclusion. “You would look pretty ravishing in neon green…”

“What if I just declined all of them?” Tsukishima muttered under his breath, only half-joking.

Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. “No way. Either you’re writing this email, or I am.”

Tsukishima sighed, but it wasn't entirely genuine. “Then I guess I have an email to write.” He smiled at Yamaguchi and leant against him slightly. “Thank you for helping me work all this out. I’m… really pleased that you made me do this. I’m sorry for not telling you about it, really. Thanks.”

Yamaguchi smiled too, shaking his head and leaning back against Tsukishima. “Of course. I’m just pleased you finally came to your senses.” 

Tsukishima would have gladly stayed in the same position for hours, and he knew Yamaguchi felt the same. It did nothing to stop his boyfriend standing up and stretching before turning to Tsukishima again. “Seeing as you have an email to send, do you want me to make dinner?”

Tsukishima sighed at the loss of warmth but nodded and stood up as well. “That might be the best plan, if you’re alright with it. I know it was my turn to cook but we shouldn't eat too late.” He felt bad that Yamaguchi was making the food now as well as all the help he'd given him, but it really was the most logical option, and he could make it up another night. 

Yamaguchi shook his head. “It’s no problem, I’ll finish up whatever you had on,” He shrugged and gave Tsukishima's hand a light squeeze. “Now go write that email to the Sendai Frogs, okay?” He walked out of the lounge, leaving Tsukishima standing there alone. He picked up the appropriate letter and went to his room to start typing.

***

Tsukishima lay on the sofa with Yamaguchi, both relaxed and content from the dinner Yamaguchi had cooked; in reality, while Tsukishima made an effort with cooking, Yamaguchi's meals naturally seemed better to him anyway. 

They were both nearly asleep, and Tsukishima knew they should have gone upstairs to bed a while ago, but he couldn’t move Yamaguchi from where he was positioned so comfortably. 

“Your hair’s soft,” Tsukishima mumbled, playing with the strands of Yamaguchi’s fringe, combing his fingers slowly through.

“You’re soft.” Yamaguchi smiled, curling up slightly more, letting his head drop into Tsukishima’s chest.

A soft smile spread on Tsukishima’s face, closing his eyes slightly and letting his breathing relax. “I love you.”

“I know. I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> heya - thank you so much for reading!! when i first saw tsukishima in that green volleyball shirt i immediately though yamaguchi would have something to do with it. i mean, i can't see him choosing that himself. anyways i'm ridiculously proud of both of the boys for their careers, but i really wanted the blank space of how they chose them filled, in my mind at least, so here's this!
> 
> i like making notes sections, but this is getting really ramble-y so sorry! anyways, i want to do a part two kinda thing for this focusing on yams making career decisions. now i think about it, that sounds like the most boring fanfic description ever, so please let me know your thoughts if you'd like to give them?
> 
> thank you for looking at this, and have an awesome day/night, whatever time it is!
> 
> \- dreams_and_typewriters


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